Expanding projectile



J. T. AND R. A. CAREAGA.

c. M. CAREAGA, EXECUTRIX OF R. A. CAREAGA, DECD.

EXPANDING PROJECTILE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY10.1918.

Patented Jan. 31, 1922.

)W ED rs FA Joni r. AREAGA' AND RAMON AJCAREAGA, or SAN-JOSE, CALIFORNIA; CORA M. cannaeanxncurmxor slain RAMON a. CAREAGA; DECEASED.

ToaZ Z w hofm z't may concern: V j

Be it known that we, J OHN T. CAREAGA and RAMON A. CARE GA, citizens of the United States, residing at San Jose, in the county of Santa Clara and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements. in Expanding 1 Projectiles and We do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of the invention is to provide a relatively simple and comparatively inexpensive expanding projectile for use in warfare and more especially designed as a means of destroying or removing barbed Wire entanglements and attacking troops in close formation, and to that end the same consists in a construction, combination and relation of parts hereinafter inclicated, it being understood however that changes in form, proportion, material and details of construction may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a side view of a projectile and shell embodying the essential features of the invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the projectile.

Figure 3 is a similar view showing the same in dotted lines with the parts in their 7 expanded relation.

F lgure 4 is a transverse section on the plane indicated by the line l4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the plane indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the projectile base and an auxiliary sleeve shrunk or threaded thereon.

The projectile, which may be of any suitable or approved material, is provided with a base 10 with which are pivotally connected a plurality of expanding elements 11, any desired number of which may be employed and which are normally held in a contracted or collapsed relation as shown in Figures 1 and 2 by an encircling retaining band 12 of *which, however, a lurality may be em- EXPANDING rnoanoritn.

"Specification of Letters Patent- Patented Jan. 31,119 22- Application filed Juiy o, 1918. Serial No. 244,287. 7'

duced by the registration of a plurality of depressions formed respectively in said expanding elements. There has further been provided a passage 14 in which an igniting fuse may be placed and lighted before the projectile is placed in the gun, the length of the fuse being determined according to the distance it is desired to have the projectile travel before the charge in the chamber 13 explodes and throws the arms outwardly. It will be understood that any suitable means may be employed for pivotally connecting the elements with the base, such as the rivets indicated at 15, and that the base of the projectile may be arranged in a shell 16 containing the propelling charge 17, as shown in Figure 1, or may be fitted with a rifling band 18 shrunk or threaded in place where a separate propelling charge is employed.

It will be obvious that a projectile of this I type may be adapted to various types of guns and may be made of various sizes, lengths, diameters and the like, the object being to so arrange the parts that the expanding charge will be detonated before the projectile reaches the objective so as to approach and contact with the objective in the expanded position indicated in Figure 3. As ordinarily a projectile is given a rotary movement, due to the rifling in the gun, the centrifugal action will completely expand the elements and the rotary motion will be continued so that the device will have tearing action in encountering barbed wire entanglements and the like to the end that the maximum efliciency in destroying the same may be attained.

Preferably the base of the projectile is extended beyond the contour peripherally of the expanding elements to form a stop shoulder 19 which serves to limit the expansion of the elements to a position which is transverse to the line of flight or is radial with reference to the axis of the projectile.

Having described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. An expanding projectile having a. base the projectile of substantially even diameter.

with the reduced forward end portion of the base, the inner portions of the arms being cut to provide recesses forming a charge receiving pocket having a. passage extending therefrom through the outer end of the body for receiving a use to ignite the charge in' the pocket, and a breakable band positioned about't-he body to retain the arms inengagement, the arms engaging the base when thrown outwardly and limited in their outward movement by the base.

2. An expansion projectile comprising a base having an enlarged rear end portion forming an abutment, a body formed of sections pivotally connected with the. forward end portion of the and; limited in their outward swinging movement through enagement with the abutment shoulder ormed by the enlarged rear end portion of the base, the body having a charge lgeceiving pocket for receiving a charge to throw the arms outwardly, and means for releasably holding the arms in a retracted position. 7

In testimony whereof we ail 1g our signatures in presence of twowitness'es,

H T; CABEAG L A ON' QAREAGA- Witnesses:

JoHN W. Summit, 8.1-1. BAUMAN." 

